Constitutional and administrative law covers a broad area of law. It provides the rules with which issues in society can be solved by government authorities.

Constitutional and administrative law is a specialisation of the master’s programme Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law) at the renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University. This programme looks closely at the interaction between national and European law.

On Wednesday 13 December 2017 Jaap Wieland defended his doctoral thesis entitled ‘De bescherming van concurrentiebelangen in het bestuursrecht’ (the Protection of Competition Interests in Administrative Law).

Professor Versteeg is currently Professor of Law at Virginia School of Law in the United States, where she has been working since 2011 as Miller Center Director and Human Rights Program Director at the Center for Comparative and International Law University of the Virginia School of Law.

Leiden University and REALaw organise a Conference and Summer Course on Europeanisation of national administrative law. This will be held from 2-4 September 2019 in the Old Observatory in Leiden. All speakers are confirmed and the programme is now published.

On Friday 24 June 2022, the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University welcomed more than forty administrative law scholars to the first Young Administrative Law Researchers Day.

Femke Binnendijk and Olaf van Loon have been appointed as lecturers at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden Law School.

On Thursday 13 October 2022, the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law bid farewell to Elly van der Tang-van Loenen, for years the department's mentor for master’s students. Having enjoyed this position for many years, Elly is now retiring.

On 2 September 2019, the Constitutional and Administrative Law Department of Leiden Law School and Review of European Administrative Law REALaw are organising a Conference on the Europeanisation of national administrative law through general principles of law: from resistance to voluntary adoption. Subsequently,…

From 26 to 30 June 2017 a summer course on Europeanisation of administrative law in the Member States of the European Union will be held by the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

On Wednesday 13 December at 13.45 hrs Jaap Wieland will defend his doctoral thesis entitled ‘De bescherming van concurrentiebelangen in het bestuursrecht’ (the Protection of Competition Interests in Administrative Law) at the Academy Building of Leiden University. His supervisors are Professor Willemien…

From 2 to 4 September 2019 the Conference and Summer Course on the Europeanisation of administrative law took place in Leiden. The central theme of the Conference and Summer Course was the Europeanisation of national administrative law through general principles of law: from resistance to voluntary…

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Roel Becker and Jelle But recently joined the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law as PhD candidates.

On Tuesday 12 January 2021, the Leiden Law School thesis prizes were awarded at the New Year’s event.

The first 'Tafel van Thorbecke' took place at Leiden University on Thursday 17 November 2022. For this new lecture series, initiated by Fatma Çapkurt and Gert Jan Geertjes, external scholars will be invited to speak about their research in the field of constitutional and administrative law.

From 26-30 June 2017 the first edition of the summer course on the Europeanisation of administrative law in the EU Member States took place in The Hague.

On Wednesday, September 27th the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, gave a lecture to the master's-degree students of Child Law, Criminal Law and Constitutional and administrative law.

In October 2020, the Dutch Journal of Administrative Law had a special PhD issue, giving an overview of all PhD research currently being conducted in the area of administrative law in the Netherlands.

The traditional Res Publica study trip took place this year from 20 to 24 April. Because of the coronavirus restrictions, the members of Res Publica – the faculty’s study association for constitutional and administrative law – travelled ‘virtually’ to Portugal, the United States and Singapore. Of course,…

In what ways and to which extent are the systems of national administrative law becoming Europeanised? What role do EU legal principles play in this process? Are EU legal principles smoothly absorbed in national law and practice, or do the principles encounter resistance? Which legal principles attract…

Managing scarcity to serve the public interest is a classic government task. An important way to execute this task is by allocating individual rights that are only available in limited quantities, such as CO2 emission allowances, gambling licences, subsidies, radio frequencies, public contracts and…

Public Administration is a major refereed journal publishing articles on public administration, public policy and public management.

The institute that focuses on Public Law is as broad as the field itself. The Institute of Public Law has six departments, each with its own research agenda.

On this page you can find information about the bachelor of Public Administration.

You are about to start your Master's programme in MSc. Public Administration at Leiden University in The Hague, The Netherlands. Make sure you are well prepared and get your studies off to a good start.

How do we incorporate and embed rules and principles that enter the private law system?

The Dutch childcare allowance affair has exposed the failings of the democratic constitutional state. Early in 2021, the government therefore pledged to establish a new public administration culture. There’s still a long way to go to achieve this.

Does a shared idea of the ‘public servant’ exist in Europe? Sager, Overeem, and others explore.

Our society has many complicated problems. If you enjoy thinking about administrative solutions to social issues, then Public Administration is the right study for you.

The Institute of Public Administration studies the complex problems facing the public sector in the 21st century, from climate policy to the effects of digitalisation. Its researchers analyse, explain and help come up with solutions to the challenges of society today.

How do we address the world's most pressing issues through governance? The Master of Public Administration gives you a unique multi-level perspective on the management of global political, economic and social actors, with three specialisations to suit your specific interest.

By a ruling of the Dutch Council of State, local residents and organisations can after all take their case to court even if they made no objection during a consultation session. This extension of access to court is the outcome of a judgment by the European Court of Justice. The Court ruled that in this…

Governance and Global Affairs, Instituut Bestuurskunde

In this PhD-thesis several new and existing data science application are described that are particularly focused on applications for tax administrations.

The Institute of Public Law comprises all areas of public law, with the exception of criminal law and including labour law.

Hart Publishing in Oxford has published the first book in a series entitled ‘Restatement of Labour Law in Europe’. This particular book deals with the question of which employees are protected by labour law (‘The concept of employee’).

Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, has been appointed as a member of the complaints committee of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). In performing this (ancillary) position, she will use her knowledge of administrative law, and in particular…

The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has awarded the Dutch Administrative Law Association (VAR) a start-up grant for one of the projects of the initiative 'Bestuursrecht beter' (better administrative law): a Digital Helpdesk for the Elderly. The grant will enable the VAR to take the first…

Are you interested in current affairs, developments in society and people? Are you highly motivated, willing to be challenged and able to go just a bit further in finding creative solutions to legal issues, then Rechtsgeleerdheid is the master’s programme for you.

Students are welcome to come to the Institute of Public Administration as an exchange student. Bachelor students are welcome to join our English taught courses in the first semester (Fall semester only, no Spring semester courses).